The Taliban-led Afghan government criticized Prince Harry after he mentioned in excerpts from his memoirs that he killed 25 people during his military service on a helicopter in Afghanistan, likening it to removing “chess pieces from the board”.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Taliban government, Abdul Qahhar Balkhi, criticized Prince Harry’s statements, saying, “The western occupation of Afghanistan is truly an abhorrent moment in human history, and Prince Harry’s comments represent a microcosm of the painful experience that Afghans lived at the hands of the occupation forces that killed innocent people without any accountability,” reports a local Arabic daily.
Afghan government spokesman Bilal Karimi also criticized the British prince, and said on Twitter, “These crimes are not exclusive to Harry, but rather every occupied country has a history full of such crimes.”
“Afghans will never forget the crimes of the occupiers, and they will always remain a living flame to protect their religion and country,” he added.
In turn, Anas Haqqani, a high-ranking official in the Taliban movement, in a tweet, addressed Harry, said, “Mr. Harry, those you killed are not chess pieces, these were human beings,” and accused the prince of committing war crimes.
He added, “The truth is as I see it are our innocent people were chess pieces in the eyes of your soldiers, military and political leaders, but it remains that you were defeated in that game.”
It is noteworthy that Harry’s autobiography – titled “Spare” – was put up for sale in Spain before it was released globally on the 10 January, and reveals the depth of the rift between Prince Harry and his brother, heir to the throne, Prince William, and includes other confessions such as his drug use.
